Recently I have been working on a piece that has consumed so much time and has been so labour intensive that every time I thought I had finished, the doubt flooded back like acid rain eroding a sandstone statue. The piece was originally envisioned as being only black and white but whilst in the process of its drawing I suddenly had an unexpected explosion of fluorescent colour, which as you can probably appreciate changed the direction of the creative wind somewhat. This change occurred not so much in the piece in question but as a result of sketchbook book ramblings and other smaller, less realised drawings. This obviously presented options and issues that were not necessarily there when embarking on this piece.
So the situation is one of to and fro, one minute no colour – finished piece, the next, I should explore the colour option and push the drawing to its limits (in my view). So I have made photocopies of the drawing and and am in the process of colouring it. Still no further in terms on of conclusively deciding or not which is extremely frustrating but I shall perservere. I can see the colour option being used but I see it as a big risk as the drawing could potentially be ruined and a lot of time has already been sunk into it…even writing that last sentence I think I know I have to take the risk. Being precious with work is not a good idea when at a stage that is all about development and looking for other avenues of investigation.
This has been as I say very frustrating but not without its indirect fruits, I have begun to learn just how much colour can influence and change a drawing – and this from a colour blind artist. I have learnt to accept colour as part of my work that before I saw as territory forbidden to me as I have how can I put this – a quirky sense of colour to say the least.
Taking on a full scale colour test of an intricately drawn piece of work is quite demanding in the fact that you know you’ll probably end up doing it all again on the finished article. People have suggested using a computer for the purposes of speed but I prefer the craft element of what I am all about. The grass roots of any kind of skill one desires to possess. It’s the workings behind the scenes as it were that enables a song to be sung or a dance, acrobatic routine to be nailed and honed to its finest possible level. This is what interests me.
As a colour blind artist I know that I can ne era understand and see the subtleties of colour like someone with normal colour vision (what is normal I hear you shout?). So I have decided to utilise colour as I am most comfortable – bright, vibrant and fluorescent colours as seen in everyday culture with which we are saturated with. Bright brand names, adverts, even modern architecture using colour to make an impact.
Within the scope of my own work it almost creates a dichotomy in that most of what I draw and am interested in is the natural world. The colours I use are patently not natural. So it has become a comment on the mixing of the natural and maybe the historical against the present day accessibility of practically everything. This is of course in stark contrast to when the world was a far bigger place in terms of communication, travel and pretty much every other endeavour being a bigger challenge – one example is the colour in paintings, blues and golds representing expense and wealth, showing one belongs in the higher echelons of society – nowadays it blue is widely available and perhaps too much Gould and you look like a gaudy mess.
How times change…
If you have got this far into the ramblings of the confused fool that lurks beneath my skin – I thank you. I still feel every bit as privileged to be of a creative disposition as I ever have done and love the excitement, thought and expectation of what could lay ahead.
